L'shanah tovah!! Happy New Year!!!

Hello, friends! I hope you are all having a lovely autumn. For those of us Jews, we have been in the midst of the Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe. These are the ten days that begin with Rosh HaShanah (the Jewish New Year) and conclude, tonight and tomorrow, with Yom Kippur (the Day of Repentance).

This is a time of reflection, contemplation, and reconnection. We are encouraged to return to our true selves - to consider our behavior over the past year and seek to do better in the coming year. We listen to the Shofar blast - the loud sound that comes from a ram's horn. It serves as a wakeup call, forcing us to reach for our highest potential as human and spiritual beings.

I hope that you all have a good and healthy 5770, and that you always feel that you can have a fresh start whenever you most need one.

For a truly new, innovative way of thinking about these ten days, please visit 10Q - they have created meaningful questions, for Jews and non-Jews alike, to contemplate over the past few days. You have the next 72 hours to complete the questions (and they remain confidential). One year from now, they will email you your answers, giving you an opportunity to see how you did this year!

L'shanah tovah tikateivu v'tichateimu - May we all be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for the coming year!

Been a Long Time!

Sorry for the long pause between posts - the Jewish High Holy Days are quite intense. AND, at my synagogue, we do TWO of each service! Thus, for my colleagues who are exhausted after a 3-hour long Yom Kippur morning service, imagine having to dive in and do it ALL OVER AGAIN!!



But, what was really amazing was FEELING GOOD throughout the whole 10 days of Rosh HaShanah (the Jewish New Year), the Yamim Noraim (The Days of Awe, in which we are reflecting on the past year and deciding how we want the new year to go), and then Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). I have been in such exquisite pain over the past few years, and this year was SO DIFFERENT!! Sure, my feet were achy, my head was tired, and my voice didn't want to come out after 12 hours of rabbi-ing. But, my back DIDN'T HURT!!!! Isn't that incredible?



I had energy, vitality, and a smile on my face. It was a totally different High Holy Day experience for me, and I am so grateful for it. I kept thanking God for this new year, and a renewed sense of life and peace.



Now, we are getting ready for Sukkot, the Jewish holiday that celebrates the fall harvest and appreciates the earth's bounty. We build a Sukkah, a temporary structure covered with branches that allows us to connect with nature, see the sky and stars through the roof, and appreciate both the blessing and the fragility of life. The holiday begins tonight and lasts for 7 days. More service-leading, yes, but a happy holiday!!

Stay tuned over the next few days - I will be posting pics from the New Kids Concert and the Madonna Concert that I attended over the past few weeks. YAY!!!!!